4chan founder Christopher Poole (also known as "moot") has come out swinging for web anonymity.
Though Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserts that one's online identity should be tied to one's real life identity in order to preserve authenticity, Poole said of the Facebook founder's position, "I think that's totally wrong," in a talk at SXSW, according to VentureBeat.
Launched in 2003 by the then 15-year-old Poole, 4chan is a web board for sharing and discussing Japanese anime, comics and culture, and on the notorious 'random' board /b/, for sharing just about anything else. The site has launched numerous viral videos, memes, and the hacktivist group Anonymous. It's likely it could only function with the anonymity it currently accords.
"Anonymity is authenticity," said Poole. "It allows you to share in an unvarnished, unfiltered, raw and real way. We believe in content over creator."
And with anonymity, users feel free to experiment without fearing reprisal, he noted. "The cost of failure is really high when you're contributing as yourself," he said. "To fail in an environment where you're contributing with your real name is costly."
Poole is currently working on a new project called Canv.as, an image sharing and editing site, which utilizes Facebook Connect, but still allows anonymous posting.